It was still early in the afternoon when Kardan and Dirk stepped form the
trees into a clearing at the base of a steep hill. Near the summit of the
hill was the facade of a small hut, and it was easy to tell that the
majority of the dwelling was carved into the stone face of the earth
itself. A narrow path wound up the hillside to the entrance. There was no
sign of life within, just a dark doorway that neither traveler's eyes could
penetrate from where they stood. "This is the place," Dirk said, "Are you
sure you want to go in alone?" Kardan nodded. "I will be fine." She replied
flatly. "Just make sure you're polite," Dirk added, "I knew a man who
wasn't careful with that old sorcerer and came back sexually attracted to
sheep."

Kardan chuckled. "Then I suppose I will take up farming." She quipped. In
truth though, she was a little touched at Dirk's apprehension. After
they're travels together it was clear that he had begun to care about
her. "Don't worry," she said, squeezing him arm to reassure him, "Wait here
and I will be back as soon as I can." Dirk conceded. Kardan turned and
began treading the path that led to the small abode. Even amidst his
concern, Dirk could not help but admire her muscular backside as she
climbed the narrow trail up the hill. Her strong legs carried her upwards
as she approached the silent hut.

Inside Kardan paused to let her eyes adjust to the dark. The room was small
and furnished sparsely. A single wood table with a few pages of
indecipherable writing on it sat near the center of the room with a simple
stool beside it. The back wall of the room was simply the face of the
hillside, and a dark stone passageway led down into the ground. Kardan went
to the table and started examining the books. They seemed to all be in a
language she didn't understand, but were nonetheless fascinating. "Some
people knock." A deep voice suddenly said, startling her. She spun around,
hand going towards her sword.

A middle-aged man was facing her, his hand held out in a disarming
gesture. He had short black hair that was grey at the temples, and was
wearing simple monastic-looking clothes. Her eyes were the most notable;
blue grey in colour and incredibly piercing and intelligent. The voice
Kardan had heard was masculine and commanding. "You didn't have a door."
Kardan quipped. The man smiled. "You have a point there." He conceded in a
friendly manner. "I assume you are looking for some help with your problem,
Kardan." He said after a pause.

Kardan raised her eyebrow. "You know me?" She asked. "In a way, I can glean
certain things from peoples minds, who they are, what their nature is. I
can't tell everything, but I can see who you were and who you now are. You
definitely have a interesting problem, if you consider it that." In a way
Kardan was relived, this saved her the trouble of explaining and convincing
him. She felt strangely at ease with this man, he didn't seem to have any
of the malicious or vindictive qualities that she feared she would find in
him. "My name, by the way, is Graff." The man said, introducing
himself. "Now tell me everything that happened the day of the change and
maybe I can help."

Kardan told him everything he remembered about the night she had been
transformed, which wasn't hard since it was burned into her mind and
tempered with her wish for retribution. Graff listened to all she said,
nodding and taking in all the information. When Kardan was finished she
looked at him hopefully. "Do you think you can help me?" She asked. Graff
thought a moment, then nodded. "I believe I can assist you, though I will
tell you right now that I cannot change you back to your former self here
and now." Kardan grew excited, thrilled at his offer to help.

"I will tell you something else." Graff went on, "I have a price for my
assistance." Kardan wasn't shocked, but she was a little disappointed in
Graff, he had seemed less base. "It is a rule of the order of sorcery that
I belong to never to give help to outsiders without making them give
something in return. I am very secluded and alone here, and considering you
have nothing else to trade, I'm sure you will understand what I want from
you." Kardan understood perfectly. "How do I know I can trust you?" She
asked. "How do I know that you won't just take me and then tell me
nothing?" Graff nodded again. "Two reasons;" he replied. "For one I give
you my word, and the second is that you don't have a choice."

"There is a third reason as well." Kardan added. Graff looked
interested. "If you try and take advantage of me I swear to god I will kill
you." Graff nodded. "You know I believe you would actually find a way to do
that, too."

Graff led Kardan to the back of the room, and they descended into the
living rock. the blackness gave way to dim torchlight, and soon they
emerged into a jagged cavern. Kardan found the cavern to be more like what
she expected of a sorcerer; more books, phials, jars, a mortar and pestle
and, in one corner, a bed covered in furs. Graff gestured to the
bed. Kardan resigned herself and, after placing her sword on the floor
where she could reach it, she began to disrobe. Soon she stood naked in the
flickering orange light of the torches, her taut body rippling in the
shadows. Graff had removed his own robes as well, and Kardan found herself
impressed my the older man's physique.

She felt her breasts bounce on her chest as she went over to the bed and
sat down on the edge, leaning back. Graff moved to her, spreading her
legs. He knelt down and began using his mouth on her pussy, playing with
her most sensitive areas with some skill. Kardan sighed, feeling herself
get wetter, feeling her body get prepared to open up to this man she had
just met. When Graff had brought Kardan near to an orgasm, he removed
himself from her groin and stood up. His cock was hard, and while it was
not as impressive as Dirk's, it was still impressive.

Kardan wrapped her legs around the man's waist, pulling him to her as he
prepared to enter her body. Graff's prod pressed against her slick opening
for a second, and then he began working it inside her. Kardan closed her
eyes and leaned back on the bed, playing with her nipples. Graff was
thrusting in and out of her, going a little deeper each time. She was
sighing now, enjoying the pleasure that her surrender offered her. She lost
track of time as Graff's attacks became more passionate, his sweat flowing
from his brow as he pumped into her.

At the same moment Kardan felt herself approach a climax, Graff clenched
his body inside her. Together they came, Kardan moaning softly and letting
her orgasm wash over her, Graff grunting as he poured his seed into
Kardan's body. His semen felt like fire inside of her, and her moan became
a scream as their mutual pleasure peaked. Gradually they desperate
thrusting of the two bodies waned, and Kardan felt the sorcerer becoming
limp inside her canal.

Some time later Kardan was strapping her clothes back on, having cleaned
herself up as best she could. Graff had remained nude. She eyes the man
warily. "Well then," She said, "I'd appreciate it if you told me what you
know now." Graff conceded. "Apologies," he began, "I was just enjoying the
relief. Yes, the information you want is thus; When you were changed it was
at night, and the moonlight shone through the crystal once the roof was
opened. The moons rays, altered by the crystal, was what caused the
change. If my knowledge of such gems is correct, then all you would need to
do is repeat the process by daylight. The sun, shining through the crystal,
should turn you back to your former self."

Kardan digested this. While the information did give her a direction to go,
it also meant that she had to get back inside Thulzla's lair. "Are there no
other crystals such as that one?" She asked. "Most likly," Graff replied,
"But I could not say where you would find them, they are very rare." Kardan
accepted this. She thanked the sorcerer and prepared to leave, he thanked
her in turn. Karnad climbed the steps out of the cavern, crossed the floor
of the hut and emerged into the daylight once more. She spied Dirk at the
foot of the hill and waved to him, beginning the decent.

So that was that - Kardan had to find a way back into the chamber that
changed her and expose herself to the crystal amplified sunlight. It
sounded much simpler than it was.